Alfa Romeo 4c who has one?

I don't know if having a hard time selling them is the same as "only a small group of people want a car like this."

 

There are discounts around the country but you'll have to ship the car or drive it home. My vegas dealer has spiders at $10 grand off MSRP. I'm sure you can negotiate more. Even brand new dealers were not marking them up. I got a Launch Edition (only the 3rd car the dealer had received) at MSRP. Some cars in LA were marked up at first but very few. So, right off the bat they were sold with no markup generally.

The coupes will probably stop this coming year because of some new regs coming in. Spiders are exempt so they may continue a few more years.

About 600 to 1000 4c's are sold a year in the US. That's like 1/5 of Ferrari 488's and 1/30th of Corvettes. So, you don't see them everywhere.

Alfa never intended to make money on these. It was a marketing gimmick. We most likely will never see another car like this made again for this price. But they are not for everyone. Love / hate is probably were most people fall in. You either get it and love it for what it is (pure) or you hate it for what it is (pure).

But if you want one of the last purely hand made Italian cars ever made that isn't only for billionaires, this is your car.

 

To your points, I don't think it is a car for everyone. Access and egress are difficult, its pretty uncompromizing and so on as people have discussed. Like you, I really commend Alfa for making the car. Took real courage as does their marketing blitz.

Yes, there are lots of incentives. It is getting hard to find the car you want though. There was one car in the US that matched my preferred spec and one other that was close. One was 400 miles away, the other on the East Coast so the availabllity is tightening up.

 

Maerten, yes, it has the film.

Tim, I'll have it on the track briefly in May (I instruct for one of the local Ferrari dealers). I am not sure beyond that. I have raced at those tracks and, for me, track days pale a bit in comparison to competition. That said, I think the car is well suited to the endeavor and I am looking forward to trying to get the car to slide around a bit!

Philip

 

I'd be all over this if came with a manual.

 

I love manuals too. I just bought a Mini manual which was hard to find.

I have thought about it in this car and I'm not sure it would work. The reason is its so heavily turbo charged that the lag between shifts would exaggerate the revs dropping between shifts. Right now it shifts so fast that the revs don't have time to drop. But if you slow the speed of the shift then the engine is dropping revs more and the boost goes down.

In any event, this car is a blast to drive with paddles. I liked it better than the 458 DCT and close to the F430 F1, which was perhaps the second best robotized box other than the Scud.

What I do like about the 4c is it's pureness. They didn't try to change the exhaust note, they didn't try to hide the turbo sound or the pop off valve, they didn't put in sound deadening --- hell they didn't even put on a muffler. It's just "car" in all it's glory -- and warts exposed. But I think the mole on Cindy Crawford's face gives her personality. And, like the 4c, she ain't bad to look at!

 

The owners manual indicates about 160 miles, instructions to vary load etc. after this dynamic mode can be selected and I assume race mode, launch control etc.

How many miles have people done before hammering it? If you have not followed the OM and would care to share why, that would be helpful.

Thanks
Philip

 

Have any 4C owners driven a Cayman R? I would be interested to know how they compare because on paper the Porsche is around 400 kg's heavier but has more power allied to very long gear ratios.

I'd imagine power to weight the Alfa might hold the advantage.

 

As soon at that software controlled break in period ended I went for it. It's a pretty built proof motor. I drive this car hard all the time. Rarely do I "baby it". Race mode every day baby!

 

I owned both for a while but the Cayman R went a couple of years back and was followed by a 981 Cayman GTS, then a GT4 and now a 981 Boxster Spyder. I still have the 4C.

The R was a fantastic car but very different to the the 4C. In isolation it felt quite raw and focused as a drivers car and had superb balance and handling and made a fantastic noise. The 4C feels a whole lot rawer again and actually made the R feel almost like a GT car in comparison.
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Thanks for the feedback. At the moment here they are both at similar price points, newish 4C and pre owned R. I am not sure the R can really compete with the agility of the 4C, will need to drive the R to decide.

For me the issue with the R is, in SA a pre owned Cayman S is 50% cheaper than the R and when I look at the differences its tough to justify that price premium. The 4C occupies a niche all of its own.

 

The R is very different to a standard Cayman S in terms of feel and fun factor. It was a limited run car and will undoubtedly hold its value well in the long term as a result. It was pretty misunderstood by dealers (certainly in the UK) at launch and so many were not well spec'ed - heavier wheels than the standard option, folding bucket seats replaced by the multi function regular sport option etc. It also arrived on the market when the economic situation was gloomy so was a struggle to sell. I bought mine as a low mileage ex demo for a bargain price as a result and kept it for 2 and a half years as it was such a good car. The Cayman GTS that replaced it was a good car but felt like a luxury GT in comparison to the R and I regretted the swap.

For a weekend occasional use toy I'd take the 4C as it has a more visceral, mini 430 Scuderia like feel. If using the car more regularly I'd take the Cayman R which is more a finely honed scalpel than can switch easily between everyday usability (two large trunks, relatively compliant suspension, reasonable ground clearance, great all round visibility) and highly entertaining back road sports car. It has a more fluid chassis than the 4C which is easier to exploit. You'll attack a winding road with relish in the R and get out relaxed and grinning. In the 4C you'll be working harder to cover the same ground but have a greater adrenalin rush at the same time as you have to stay intently focused in it. Drive both back to back if possible and you'll see what I mean.

 

The R I am looking at has the bucket seats and air con but its painted the famous launch green which I cannot decide if I like or don't like.

You are right though, I will try drive both back to back. Had some seat time in the 4C and loved it, the sense of occasion climbing into the car, the door handles which remind me of any of the recent Ferrari's, the feeling of sitting down on the ground. For me though the star with the steering, that super direct go cart feel. The only car I have driven which has been like that was a 458 Speciale and a 458 itself. You point the nose and it turns.

Thanks for the input.

 

Well I have the RF, (all tuned and not as slow as you might think), and though it has taken me awhile, I have decided to add a 4C to the group. I have an offer in on one now, I should know in the next couple days if they are going to accept it. With this and the i8 I will have two carbon fiber tub cars.

 

US sales:-

2015 - 663
2016 - 492

 

FYI hearing reports that you can no longer order a 2017 from the factory.

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Any talk of a N/A motor with a manual transmission.

 

Nope and nope...

2017 is the last year of the coupe.

But if your interested, I know of a 479PS Alfa Romeo 4c running Ferrari pistons. It's in Friedrichshafen, Germany.

 

2017MY order deadline seems to have passed.
479 PS - oh my! I wonder how the gearbox stands up.
Philip

 

Looks like my deal is going through, depending on the weather I'd say it should be here early next week. Thanks Mayor I found a 16 leftover and was able to get a considerable discount off the sticker price.

 

Okay a couple questions, you cannot put the car in dynamic mode for 500 miles, it this true? Of course I will be doing my usual modifications to fit my needs. I have dealt with Madness (they have a bluetooth controlled unit) and EC when I had the Abarth, but it seems there are a few suppliers in UK and Europe that offer products. Going to head over to the 4C forum and see what I can learn.

 

I think it was about 230-250 miles for me before dynamic was available.

 

Be sure to check out euro compulsion.they have an ECU and an intake that has gotten great feedback.

The ECU is a replacement for the factory ECU and is very easy to install. Basically it is four bolts and a plug and is very accessible..


https://shopeurocompulsion.net/collections/alfa-romeo-engine/products/euro-drive-alfa-romeo-4c-ecu-clone-system

They also have some interesting technical articles in their site.

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Somewhere between 160 and 180 miles and dynamic mode becomes available.

I'd recommend trying to get some information on gearbox robustness before boosting power too high. I had a Noble. Manual transmission - so not directly comparable - boosted the power and needed its gearbox rebuilt within about 15000 miles. I added a gearbox pump and cooler after the rebuild...

Isn't the air scoop behind the driver's door an air duct to keep the trans cool? Was this on all MY or just added to later cars? If the later, well, there's a reason and I'm guessing it wasn't cosmetic.

And, last, I have no knowledge of EC or any of the tuners but for me, a "no failures to date" line would be met with "great, so you'll warranty it, right, just like the OEM drivetrain?" and we know how that one usually ends.

I think the only tuning company that didn't violate the OEM warranty was Dinan (BMW), but perhaps there are others.

Anyway, don't mean to be crotchety about this. Good luck if you do it and let us know how it works out.
Philip

 

The gearbox has been rebuilt too.